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WORLD CUP

World Cup notes: Japan washes away loss with hot tub party

Sun Wire Services

Wednesday, June 18, 2014
6:14:42 EDT PM

Japan's national soccer team players Hiroki Sakai (L) and Gotoku Sakai walk towards the pitch before the training session at Japan's team base camp in the town of Itu north-west of Sao Paulo June 17, 2014. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)

Japan washed away the stains of their "rubbish" World Cup performance against the Ivory Coast in a jovial Jacuzzi session, with the mood in the squad bubbling nicely ahead of Thursday's clash with Greece.

The Asian champions have been frank about their problems in coping with the Ivorians after they threw away a 1-0 halftime lead to lose the Group C clash 2-1 in Recife Saturday.

Playmaker Shinji Kagawa was one of those who struggled badly, complaining of losing a psychological battle with himself before kickoff, but striker Yoshito Okubo said the squad had rallied around him.

"He really was on a downer but he is fine now," the Kawasaki Frontale forward told Kyodo News. "A few of us had a bit of a chat in the Jacuzzi the other day. We talked about how the team played but had a bit of a laugh about how we were feeling.

"We told each other how rubbish we were but not to let it get to us. It's good to finish things off with a laugh. There is nothing you can do about it and there are still two games left.

"It is important to regroup. You can't dwell on things as it only brings a negative vibe to the team. The mood in the team isn't bad. There is no need to be down in the dumps."

Japan takes on Greece, which lost the opener 3-0 to Colombia, in Natal before facing the South Americans in Cuiaba Tuesday.

YA KONAN OUT FOR IVORY COAST

Ivory Coast will be without forward Didier Ya Konan for Thursday's World Cup Group C clash against Colombia because of a knee injury, coach Sabri Lamouchi said Wednesday.

Ya Konan came on as a substitute for the final 12 minutes of Saturday's 2-1 comeback win against Japan in Recife and Lamouchi said he was hopeful the 30-year-old would be fit for Ivory Coast's final group game against Greece on Tuesday.

"We do not want to take any risks with him," Lamouchi told a news conference at the national stadium. "We hope he will recover as early as the match against Greece but if that doesn't happen then maybe for the second round."

Lamouchi was predictably bombarded with questions about whether the African side's talisman, Didier Drogba, would make a return to the starting lineup after he was left on the bench until the 62nd minute against Japan.

Two minutes after the 36-year-old entered the fray Ivory Coast levelled through Wilfried Bony and Gervinho struck the winner a further two minutes later.

IRAN NEEDS 'MIRACLE'

Holding African champions Nigeria to a stalemate is one thing, but divine intervention will be required if Iran is to get anything from its World Cup clash against Lionel Messi's Argentina, coach Carlos Queiroz said.

The two sides meet in Belo Horizonte Saturday with a lopsided victory for the twice-champion South Americans the only result expected against the limited, defensive Iranians.

"It will require a miracle since Argentina is one of the best teams in the world and also they have one day of rest more than we do," Queiroz was quoted as saying by the Telam News Agency.

"Messi could be the best player in the world if he was human, but as he is not human he does not enter the race."

The two teams have met once before, a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Madrid in 1977. A repeat result in Brazil is highly unlikely, with the Iranians having won only one match in three previous World Cup appearances.

KROOS OK WITH NEW NICKNAME

Germany's Toni Kroos is happy to be called 'the waiter' if it means he's feeding his teammates with appetizing passes.

But off the field he prefers to order his meals from someone else.

Asked at a news conference if he would like the Brazilian nickname 'Garcon', given to a player who delivers the ball to the strikers, the midfielder smiled before answering.

"If you're talking about the term 'Garcon' in the sense of setting up my teammates with good passes, that's alright," Kroos said after 76 of his 79 passes were on target in the 4-0 win over Portugal in their opening Group G match on Monday.

"But when we're sitting around together in the evening, I'm not the waiter. I prefer to be served myself then."

TOE TROUBLE FOR ESSIEN

Michael Essien's woes with Ghana look to have no end after the midfielder missed training Wednesday with a toe injury that threatens his participation in their next game against Germany.

Essien, who has suffered two serious injuries in the past on national team duty and missed out on the 2010 World Cup, picked up the injury in the 2-1 loss to the U.S. Monday after coming on as a second-half substitute, the Ghana Football Association said Wednesday.

The 31-year-old suffered a cruciate ligament injury playing for Ghana in 2008 and was out for six months at the height of his career at Chelsea.

He suffered a second serious knee injury at the 2010 African Nations Cup, missing the World Cup in South Africa that year, and retired from international play until coming out of his self-imposed exile last year.

STARS KEEPING LOW PROFILE

Argentina stuck to their tactic of keeping their big name players out of the World Cup spotlight as much as possible, rolling out two reserve goalkeepers to face a throng of media representatives Wednesday.

The tactic has so far worked well, with Argentina kicking off their campaign with a 2-1 opening victory over Bosnia and Iran awaiting Saturday in Belo Horizonte.

Reserve keepers Mariano Andujar and Agustin Orion entered a room packed with hundreds of reporters, with many spilling out on to the gardens at the sprawling Atletico Mineiro training ground outside Belo Horizonte.

Earlier Wednesday four-time world player of the year Lionel Messi was on the pitch along with Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria for their daily training session but team officials opted to keep them well away from the story-hungry press corp.

All previous news conferences included equally low-profile players, apart from when Messi faced the media following his man-of-the-match award in the win over Bosnia.

Argentina is among the title favourites in Brazil, with Messi under pressure to deliver at a World Cup as he has done so many times for his club Barcelona.

COPS BREAK UP PROTEST

Police fired stun grenades and tear gas in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre Wednesday to disperse protesters demonstrating against the World Cup.

The 150 protesters, who marched in the city centre as the World Cup match between Australia and the Netherlands kicked off, were met by a force of several hundred police, witnesses said.

At least two protesters and three journalists were hurt after police fired tear gas and stun grenades at them. After the initial confrontation, the protesters changed course and marched through nearby streets until they finally dispersed.

One woman carried a banner saying "F--- FIFA". Protesters also chanted at the police: "You are working for FIFA, you are not Brazilian, you are s---."

Protests by Brazilians angry about alleged wasteful spending for the World Cup have broken out in several cities and some have turned violent, but most have attracted only a few hundred people and they appear to be shrinking by the day.

SIGNING GARBAGEMEN ENTERTAIN FANS

The strait-laced Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte may not have sun-kissed beaches to entertain fans between matches but it does have its very own singing garbagemen.

Every night, the rubbish collectors trundle down streets chanting songs, shouting and sticking thumbs up to football fans, and banging rhythms out on metal bins and lorries.

"It's the World Cup. We're happy and so we want you to be happy too," said Matheus Pinto, 24, wearing a Brazil scarf over his working garb as he tapped out some samba on the back of a lorry near Liberty Square in central Belo Horizonte. "This is the land of music and football."

Foreign fans had been expressing disappointment at the lack of World Cup colour in the city, a conventional state capital and business centre. So there has been general delight when the garbagemen come out and do their stuff.

"It's fantastic. This place is, frankly, rather boring. But these guys are hilarious," said Andres Ortiz, 39, a businessman in town with friends for the Argentina-Iran game Saturday.

The Belo Horizonte binmen were perhaps inspired by Rio de Janeiro street sweeper Renato Sorisso, who became famous as a samba dancer at carnival.